


The Baskerville Incident

by EmeraldEyes8917



Category: Sherlock (TV)
Genre: F/M, Gen, Missing Scene, The Hound of Baskerville, Twitter Roleplay
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-28
Updated: 2020-10-28
Packaged: 2021-03-09 05:35:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,784
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27148816
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EmeraldEyes8917/pseuds/EmeraldEyes8917
Summary: On the infamous day when Sherlock Holmes and John Watson entered the Baskerville site using Mycroft Holmes' ultra-access card, Anthea was a witness and ultimately tasked with retrieving the card and the wayward detective.Never a dull moment...
Relationships: Anthea & Mycroft Holmes, Anthea/Sherlock Holmes
Kudos: 8





	The Baskerville Incident

**Author's Note:**

> Here is a missing scene from 'The Hounds of Baskerville'. Seeing as the breach was handled by so many people on office phones as seen in the episode, it always made me wonder what Anthea and Sarah would be up to behind the scenes. It may just have gone a little something like this...
> 
> Enjoy, and thank you for reading.

The day had begun like any other.

Walking in the front entrance of the office building, exchanging pleasantries in the corridors and reviewing her schedule for the day over a quick cup of coffee in a plastic cup which was thin enough for her to experience palpable heat on her fingertips.  
  
At 9:30 a.m. exactly, her PA Sarah Hudson had brought her coffee in a china mug and a lemon muffin, along with a stack of reports accompanied by a sympathetic smile, reminding her of the MoD briefings in the evening. Anthea had smiled back and resumed typing on her BlackBerry, asking Sarah to send up any more requisition forms should they be submitted to her, making another note to send down a muffin and a mango smoothie in return for all the hard work she was doing.  
  
The morning passed by in its usual stimulating manner, punctuated with her BlackBerry sounding with alerts, harried officials bringing her updates following hurried raps to her office door, and following an EGM regarding the national welfare system and health reforms, she had returned to her desk, high-heels slipped off and finding their place on the worn carpet, her pen resumed signing forms and making notations on reports.  
  
About six and a half hours later, the neighbouring offices began to fill with the constant ringing of telephones and the urgent murmur of voices followed by the typing of buttons as calls were put through to relevant departments, as well as relevant people. She paid it no heed, the soothing cello music acting as a pleasing background to her work.  
  
However, there was no halting the sound coming closer and closer, louder and louder, until her own desk-phone trilled, making her start and very nearly scratch a long blue line across the pristine typed page.  
  
Blinking several times, she closes the manila folder and picks up the receiver, listening for a few moments, her fingers curled around the cord, as was an old habit picked up from her secretarial days.

She exchanges a few words, winding the cord around her fingers, the words 'laboratory' and 'ultra priority' coming through.  
  
The full implication of this security alert doesn't sink in until a column of a diary with a black notation in a white square flashes in her mind.  
  
She sets the phone down, staring ahead and taking a deep breath, mumbling, "Please tell me he didn't..."  
  
Reacting instinctively, she sends a message to Sarah, asking her to meet in the Communications department regarding a matter of great urgency, and a second, with some measure of reluctance, to Mycroft Holmes.   
  
"Sir, your ID card has just been used to gain access to the Baskerville compound. Since your schedule has you marked down for an afternoon in the Diogenes Club on the last Friday of each month, I wouldn't think that is likely that you are in two places at once. - A."  
  
A curt reply from Mr Holmes follows just moments later, stating that he was dealing with the matter and she is striding to Communications, stepping into the lift and allowing herself a long exhale as the doors slide shut.  
  
Putting her hand on her forehead, she walks from one side of the tiny space to the other, then leaning her hand against the mirror and using her yoga techniques to calm herself.

Lifting her BlackBerry once more in both hands, she decisively types another message, this time without disguising her annoyance.  
  
"Sherlock Holmes, what in the wide world are you doing? - A."  
  
She presses the send button with some force, tapping her foot as the lift begins its slow downward climb. The elevator numbers flash a cheery yellow as the lift continues its descent, hardly fitting for her mood. Once she is in the corridor, her BlackBerry sounds brightly with a reply.  
  
"I told you I was popping out for a short while. I just happened to end up in a top-secret base. SH"  
  
She can see the smug smirk on his face as he swans through Baskerville like he owned every piece of equipment, flashing his brother's ID card like it was a golden ticket. Her blood pressure begins to climb, even as she allows herself a small smile tinged with fondness.  
  
"Your brother will hit the roof. Whatever you're doing, it's done. The breach has been detected. Come out of Baskerville and return that card, please. - A."  
  
The doors are swung open and her pace quickens as she turns several corners to find the communications hub.  
  
Another reply, her stride not broken as she reads, "It will be entertainment for your dull colleagues to see my brother dear stuck in the ceiling. Besides, he will understand. It was for a case. You know my methods, intelligent as you are. And I'm not finished yet. SH"  
  
She decides to play a trump card, drawing on all her experiences in the past with the world's only Consulting Detective.  
  
"I am warning you. No tea for a month if you don't give that card back on your return. - A."  
  
It is minutes before she walks into Communications when the last reply sounds, "I have finished anyway. SH"  
  
She does a little flourish to herself with her phone in celebration at this rare victory, though it is short-lived as she remembers that Sherlock and John had breached several provisions of the Official Secrets Act by even approaching the front gates of Baskerville.

Rubbing her temple, she puts on a smile, pushing in the door and meeting Sarah, who looks rather bewildered as she leans over and examines a computer screen. They both speak to the communications team about the extent of the security breach and the implications it would have.  
  
Sarah types quickly on the keyboard, the lines of codes and data flooding across the screen, her eyes following each fragment, and she explains about the 'Ultra priority' and a lot of technical languages that Anthea just about comprehends, and she turns to her with a wry smile.  
  
"Trust Sherlock to pickpocket his brother on a good day."  
  
Anthea dips her head, then gives firm commands to the team present to get in touch with Baskerville security to determine just how far Sherlock and Doctor Watson were able to go with the card, and if possible, to find out why on Earth they were exploring Baskerville in the first place.  
  
Mr Holmes texts her soon afterwards, once it is confirmed that Sherlock and John have been escorted off the premises, following an encounter with Major Barrymore. There were more than a few ruffled feathers following this visit from Sherlock on behalf of the staff at the facility, and it was of the highest importance that no action be taken on their behalf against any of them.  
  
Mycroft Holmes messages her once again, putting his plan into action, putting out the metaphorical fires.  
  
"I am sending Gregory Lestrade to Dartmoor. This incident requires closer examination. There is a reason why my dear brother is taking an interest in the inner workings of Baskerville. MH"  
  
"Yes, sir. That is a wise decision. Sherlock always has his reasons. They will surely be uncovered by DI Lestrade. I trust your afternoon was not a complete upheaval, sir? - A."  
  
"Thankfully not. A minor crisis has been averted and the world resumes its orbit. Once my brother has completed his investigation, I will need an envoy to convey my apologies to the staff at Baskerville. Is there a window in your schedule? MH."  
  
She gets a small flutter in her stomach, both at the prospect of travelling and for the chance of seeing him again soon. Even if it involved some mild scolding on her part and some whining on his.  
  
"Yes, sir. When the clearance is in order, I will make the journey at a moment's notice. - A."  
  
"Excellent. Let's hope that nothing of this sort will ever occur again. But then, it is my dear brother. Who is to say what may occur? Good day, my dear. MH."  
  
"Good afternoon, sir. - A."  
  
As she and Sarah returned to work, they exchanged a few words about this interesting afternoon, even allowing themselves a brief laugh, imagining the next Holmes brothers meeting with demands for ID cards to be returned and lectures on national security.  
  
"I predict some stormy weather in the office and a sulking detective down in 221B. What a time, eh?"  
  
Anthea sighs, "Mr Holmes will be in a black mood. We'll have to make the interns aware of that, should they ever be summoned to his chambers. I'll organise a lighter workload. And perhaps an apple tart..."

Types on her phone, then turning her attention to the younger Holmes brother, "I'll have to stock up on pink wafers. And perhaps another Lego pirate ship. He may want to ask Molly for a body to work on in Bart's, and hopefully, Greg will have something for him to work on. Hmmm, maybe I could see about a historic crime scene..."  
  
Sarah smiles at her flatmate's efforts to want to cheer up Sherlock. While it had been a long-time coming, she had watched the two of them dance around each other for months, neither fully admitting the extent of their feelings. It was always up to Greg, Molly and herself to nudge them in that direction.  
  
It was time for another tiny one.  
  
"Or just lots of tea and cuddles."

Sarah smiles innocently, walking ahead as Anthea stops stock-still in shock.  
  
"Miss Hudson, I beg your pardon?" Blushing madly, she strides after her indignantly, then starts talking very quickly about how it wouldn't be proper and he would be in a sulk and he wouldn't want any cuddles and who said that they did cuddle and he has his work to keep him busy so who am I to get in the way?  
  
Sarah just walks back to her office, still smiling, letting her superior and flatmate return to her office, going silent after her embarrassing outburst, looking at her BlackBerry with a wistful smile.  
  
Once her report was drafted for this morning's coding and data strings concerning the breach, she busied herself with looking over Anthea's schedule to find an opening for a train-journey to Dartmoor.  
  
The wheels were in motion with this security breach. Whatever was occurring in Baskerville, and in the small rural village, had obviously piqued Sherlock's interest. The question remained as to why. Once Sherlock and Doctor Watson were under the government's radar, it would only a matter of time before the motives are uncovered.  
  
And perhaps with some aid and a measure of persuasion from the only woman who had succeeded in being the Holmes's brother's mediator.


End file.
